U.S. Patent Application Publications No. 2007/0202151 and No. 2009/0149833 describe embodiments of a drug delivery device for minimally invasive deployment and retention in a patient, for example in the bladder. The device resists excretion, such as in response to the forces associated with urination. For example, the device may include a retention frame, which may be configured into a relatively low profile for deployment into the body and may assume a relatively expanded profile once implanted to facilitate retention. The device may provide controlled release of drug over an extended period in a predefined manner.
It would be desirable to provide additional options for retaining such a device in the body, for releasing drug from such a device into the body, and for removal of the device from the body subsequent to drug release. In some cases, it would be desirable to retain the device in the bladder without the need for a retention frame, for example where it is desired that the entire device be degradable/resorbable in vivo.